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Saturday, August 8, 2015

12 Days of Back to School Books ~ Day 12 ~ The Avery Shaw Experiment by Kelly Oram

"When Avery Shaw’s heart is shattered by her life-long best friend, she chooses to deal with it the only way she knows how—scientifically. The state science fair is coming up and Avery decides to use her broken heart as the topic of her experiment. She’s going to find the cure. By forcing herself to experience the seven stages of grief through a series of social tests, she believes she will be able to get over Aiden Kennedy and make herself ready to love again. But she can’t do this experiment alone, and her partner (ex partner!) is the one who broke her heart. Avery finds the solution to her troubles in the form of Aiden’s older brother Grayson. The gorgeous womanizer is about to be kicked off the school basketball team for failing physics. He’s in need of a good tutor and some serious extra credit. But when Avery recruits the lovable Grayson to be her “objective outside observer,” she gets a whole lot more than she bargained for, because Grayson has a theory of his own: Avery doesn’t need to grieve. She needs to live. And if there’s one thing Grayson Kennedy is good at, it’s living life to the fullest."

Kelly Oram wrote her first novel at age fifteen--a fan fiction about her favorite music group, The Backstreet Boys, for which her family and friends still tease her. She's obsessed with reading, talks way too much, and likes to eat frosting by the spoonful. She lives outside of Phoenix, Arizona with her husband, four children, and a cat named Mr. Darcy.

Question and Answer with the AuthorHow did you come to write this particular book or series?
I
remember the day I came up with the idea, but not exactly how the
concept popped into my head. I went for a run. (Okay, it was more of a
walk-run during one of my on-again times where I was dedicated to
working out. The off-again times are way more frequent.)

Anyway,
I'd gone for a run and it was one of those precious moments where I was
by myself, no distractions, no kids--just me and my thoughts. The
concept for a girl getting over a broken heart using the seven stages of
grief popped into my head, and before that half an hour (yes, that's
all I can run before I want to die) was over, I had most of the book
plotted.

I was in the middle of another manuscript at the time,
but I went home and wrote Avery's prologue right away. Five weeks later I
had a finished book. The Avery Shaw Experiment had been my easiest book
to write so far. It just flowed so naturally, and honestly, I blame
that on Avery and Grayson's natural chemistry. (Hehe science pun totally
intended!)

Snippet Time

Grayson:

Where
does one even begin when talking about Avery Shaw? I’ve known her, her whole
life, and yet I’ve never really gotten to know her.

She
and her mom have been unofficial members of my family since our moms threw up
on each other in a prenatal yoga class when I was fourteen months old. They
only got closer after Avery’s dad skipped town when Avery was four. My family
sort of adopted them, and my father took his place as the only male role model
in Avery’s life.

I
always looked at her as sort of a pesky little sister, but that all changed the
day my brother dumped her. Why, you ask? Let me put it this way: When a girl
lets you be the one to hold her as her entire world falls apart, even though
you’re ass naked, it changes the way you see her.

The
soaking-wet, see-through t-shirt didn’t hurt, either.

It
took me a while to get out of the shower after Avery finally left. I had to let
the water run cold first because, well, because I had to. Plus, I needed some
time to process. Avery Shaw had suddenly barged into so much more than just my
shower. She’d also crashed into my head in a way I never thought possible and
maybe even wormed her way into my heart a little bit. I had no freaking clue
how to handle that, much less what to do about it. But I had to do something.
Avery was destroyed and completely incapable of fixing herself.

That
was the moment the Avery Shaw Experiment started for me. It wasn’t defined yet,
and I had no idea I’d be earning extra credit for it—that was an added
bonus—but that was the first time I realized Avery Shaw had the potential to be
so much more than what she was. All she needed was a little help from someone
normal and cool who could introduce her to life the way it’s supposed to be
lived.

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I get my books from a variety of locations. I buy them, I win them in contests on Goodreads, Library Thing, or other blog giveaways . I check them out from the library. I may also get them to review from publishers or authors. I take each book, and decide if I like it, based on the book, not the location from which it is recieved. I will be honest in my reviews, and only recommend books on their quaility and content. I am not required to give a positive review in exchange for a book.

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About Me

I am happily married to my best friend and the mother of four children. I love to read and pass on good books to others. I have an awesome job as a lunch lady, really ~ it's fun and the hours are perfect for me. It also pays for my hobby of being a book blogger.